SON BORN BEFORE HIS MOTHER

How can a child be born first, and then his or her mother? Seems not only illogical, but also unnatural.
The Gurbani does not indicate to give backing to unnatural birth. Then what is
it the Gurbani is talking about here? The majority of us conduct ourselves through
broken or conditioned consciousness that is no more Intact ( i.e., consciousness
that is no more Total, Original, Holistic or "Saabat"). In the
aforementioned Shabad — which is impregnated with spiritual suggestions
— Baabaa Kabeer Sahib talks about many other "strange" things. He draws
our attention to them and also challenges us to understand their purport. Following
is the full text of this Shabad, first with just word-meaning in English
(which is not its real gist), followed by an attempt to understand its purport.

ਪਹਿਲਾ ਪੂਤੁ ਪਿਛੈਰੀ ਮਾਈ ॥ ਗੁਰੁ ਲਾਗੋ ਚੇਲੇ ਕੀ ਪਾਈ ॥੧॥: Pahilaa poot pishairee
maaee. Gur laago chele kee paaee. ||1||: First, the son was born, and then, his
mother. The guru falls at the feet of the disciple. ||1|| >>>>>
Initially, the individual being (Jeeva) was pure ("Poot", Aatamaa...)
— Intact, Total or Holistic Consciousness ("Saabat Soorat").
But later, due to the lure of his senses, he becomes illusioned, divided, and the "puppet"
of Maya ("Maaee"; i.e.e, he makes Durmat, Mayaic consciousness, etc. his mother). Maya essentially is the corruption of one's
conditioned consciousness (Haume or false ego-sense). Thus, the Jeeva
being essentially part-and-parcel of the Lord and full of infinite knowledge and
divine heritage ("Gur" - Chit, Mool...), surrenders himself to the ego-mind ("Chele"),
and thus has become the disciple of his deluded consciousness (ਅੰਤਰ ਆਤਮਾਂ ਦੀ ਆਵਾਜ ਮੰਨ ਪਿਛੇ ਲਗ ਗਈ...). In fact the state
of "purity" (Undivided Consciousness) is none other than our True Nature
("Joti-Svaroopa") we all were born with as infants. We are That
Truth-Awareness-Bliss. This state of Ultimate Truth was not only born with us,
but It never left us! This leads to the following question: If It never left us
then how did we lose track of It? Our false ego-sense (Haume) has intervened.
That's all! This false ego-sense is nothing but disturbance on the surface of
the Infinite Pool of the Undivided or Intact Consciousness (Saabat); resulting in relativist
consciousness or subject-object relationship (Maya's dualistic principle) where
the world of differences, names, shapes, cause, effect, time and space is seen.
Simply put: our mind becomes impure when it takes in false ego or the sense of
worldly objects, otherwise it's the Pure Nature ("Joti-Svaroopa").
The Gurbani wants us to know this "Mool" of ours.

ਏਕੁ ਅਚੰਭਉ ਸੁਨਹੁ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਭਾਈ ॥ ਦੇਖਤ ਸਿੰਘੁ ਚਰਾਵਤ ਗਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥: Ek achanbhou
sunahu tumh bhaaee. Dekhat singh charaavat gaaee ||1|| Rahaaou || : First, the
son was born, and then, his mother. The guru falls at the feet of the disciple.
||1|| Listen to this strange thing, O Siblings of Destiny! I saw the lion herding
the cows. ||1||Pause|| >>>>> The mind in its True Nature is
the fearless Pure Self ("lion" - Gur, Mool... ). But due to its forgetfulness of its
mighty godly status, it is engaged in gratifying the defiled senses instead (ਮਨੋ-ਕਾਮਨਾਵਾਂ, ). This
is like "the lion herding the cows"!

ਜਲ ਕੀ ਮਛੁਲੀ ਤਰਵਰਿ ਬਿਆਈ ॥ ਦੇਖਤ ਕੁਤਰਾ ਲੈ ਗਈ ਬਿਲਾਈ ॥੨॥: Jal kee mashulee
taravar biaaee.Dekhath kutaraa lai gee bilaaee ||2||: The fish of the water gives
birth upon a tree. I saw a cat carrying away a dog ||2||>>>>>
Water is the support of the fish. It cannot survive without it. The Fish of Aatmaa whose support was the water of Naam ("Raam Udak", Hukam, Shabad, Aatam Giaan, Divine Knowledge...) has settled on the tree of physical body (i.e, following the Mayaic mind, Aatmaa is busy pampering the body...). But his Manmat ("cat" - ਮਨਮਤ, self-will, baser desires, fears...)
have captured his contented nature (dog - "Kutaraa" -
is known for its contented nature).

ਤਲੈ ਰੇ ਬੈਸਾ ਊਪਰਿ ਸੂਲਾ ॥ ਤਿਸ ਕੈ ਪੇਡਿ ਲਗੇ ਫਲ ਫੂਲਾ ॥੩॥: Talai re baisaa
oopar soolaa. Tis kai ped lage fal foolaa ||3|: The branches are below, and the
roots are above. The trunk of that tree bears fruits and flowers ||3||>>>>The
picture of the inverted tree painted in words and unveiled in the stanza here
serves as a beautiful allegory of the spiritual concept of Maya, egocentric life
(Jeeva's enlightened existence), or Sansaar (material world: the
place of repeated birth and death). Kabeer Sahib describes the nature of
the material existence by a figurative representation of this Tree in order to
produce wisdom and dispassion in us, so that we may uproot this illusory Tree
along with our bondage to it. This Tree-of-Sansaar-or-life has its roots
up means it has sprung forth from the Highest Divine Consciousness (Hukam...). This Highest
Consciousness is One-in-All and All-in-One. Thus, this One Infinite alone illumines
and enlivens the body-mind-intellect apparatus by which it experiences its world
of perception-emotion-thought. Naturally, therefore, the world of phenomenal existence
is allegorically pictured in this stanza as the tree having it roots up -
arising from and sustained by the Highest Reality, Waheguru. If we stand on the
bank of a river, we can see the trees on the bank reflected upon the water with
their roots up and the branches down. Similarly, the inverted Tree-of-Sansaar-or-life
mentioned in the stanza is only a reflection of the real Tree of the Divine Reality.
Maya's deception makes this illusion possible. This reflected Tree-of-Sansaar-or-life
is situated on desires and fears (Vaasnaas etc.), just as a tree's reflection
in the river is situated on water. In short, this verse of the stanza compares
the manifold universe and the egocentric life to the reflected Tree with its roots
above and the branches below signifying this world of bondage - subjection
of the egocentric life to pleasure and pain or likes and dislikes (duality or
Doojaa Bhaav) - which is the field for man's actions.

ਝੂਠਾ ਇਹੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ਕਿਨਿ ਸਮਝਾਈਐ ॥: Jhoothaa ihu sansaar kin samjhaaeeai: This world
is false, but only a few understand this (sggs 147).

ਘੋਰੈ ਚਰਿ ਭੈਸ ਚਰਾਵਨ ਜਾਈ ॥ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਬੈਲੁ ਗੋਨਿ ਘਰਿ ਆਈ ॥੪॥: Ghorai chari bhais charaavan jaaee.
Baahar bail gon ghar aaee ||4||: Riding a horse, the buffalo takes him out to
graze. The bull is away, while his load (cart) has come home ||4||>>>>
Man's desires and fears are the "buffalo". His deluded mind soaked with
desires and fears is the "horse". Manmat ("buffalo" - ਮਨਮਤ, self-will, baser desires, fears...)
ride on the negative and defiled mind ("horse", or the body of defiled senses...), making the mind wander
wildly in egoity in all directions. Bull is known for his patience (Dheeraj).
Because of man's slavery to sense-pleasures or evil passions, his patience ("bull")
has left him, instead, leeches like worldly cravings have found home in him ("gon
ghar aaee"). To say it otherwise: the "bull" of the mind wander around, while he has left the bag ("Gon") home, in which he was supposed to collect the Naam.

Thus, the man has accepted the false, miraze-like world-appearance
(Maya) as Reality and driven the Truth out of his life. Why is so much emphasis
given to control of desires in spiritual life? Because desire for worldly objects
is man's worst enemy. Desire is the sign of an agitated or defiled mind, which
is still caught in the throes of materialistic pursuits. Sensory pursuits distract
the spiritual seeker from his quest; and becomes the cause for his worldly bondage,
and his repeated suffering. Thus, sprouting of desire in a person's mind is indicative
of sense-slavery of his conditioned consciousness. A man of Wisdom, on the other
hand, is blissful because he is poised in the Pure Self and hence his happiness
is unconditional, which constitutes total freedom. The Divine Name is indicated
in the Gurbani to be an antidote to ills of man's mind. The pyre burns a dead
body, but the Gurbani says that desire burns an alive body!

ਕਹਤ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੁ ਇਸ ਪਦ ਬੂਝੈ ॥ ਰਾਮ ਰਮਤ ਤਿਸੁ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਸੂਝੈ ॥੫॥੯॥੨੨॥: Kahaat
Kabeer ju is pad boojhai. Raam ramat tis sabh kish soojhai ||5||9||22||: Says
Kabeer, one who understands this hymn, and chants the Lord's Name, comes to understand
everything ||5||9||22||>>>>Here Kabeer Sahib says that
whosoever comprehends the purport of this hymn, and by dwelling in the Naam,
he attains holistic understanding or awareness of life and the physical body (freeing
himself from bondage, he realizes his Mool within).

The Gurbani puts tremendous emphasis on proper understanding.
Of course the practice of understanding begins at home — we must know where we
are in consciousness all the times. It deepens or unfolds within with Shabad-Vichaar. Lack of mature understanding of life or physical
body makes us live in anger and frustration, thus not progressing in spiritual
life (the Gurmukh Lifestyle). Many a time, our understanding of the life's
or physical body's purpose matters is shallow, but our reactions are emotionally
strong. This leads to a lot of conflict within and without. Control (of the body-mind-intellect
apparatus) is at its best when we change through proper understanding and not
through reactions, fear or anger. Just as all counting has to begin with the number
one, right understanding of life has to start with the Now, not some other time
or place. Here we are told by the Gurbani about the need to conduct ourselves
in life with much care and understanding. Time and again we will meet with delicate
situations, which test our equanimity (balance of the head), alertness, and concentration.
With proper understanding born of concentration, attention and alertness, desires
and fears do not take root in the mind.